SO WHAT HAS MICHAEL RUSSELLO BEEN UP TO...
PERSONALLY
I have been very happily married to my wife Carol for 30 years. We love our little rescue havenese dog, Sophia. She brings much joy into our lives. We have been blessed to have made it through many trials and tribulations that life brought along. They made both of us stronger individually and together as a result.
We have two sons (my stepsons), One lives with his lovely wife and our grandchildren in Georgia. They all make us proud. The other is deeply missed and was called back home to God early in his life, just as I was really getting to know him.
As with most everyone I’ve known, I battled the forces of evil most of my life without the thought that there was even a battle being fought. Always believed in God but early on, never focused on it. Never got in trouble much but thought it was my instincts that kept me safe.
I was baptized as an infant, then again in a baptist church in the early 80’s. They didn’t stick. In August of 2013 I was reborn to begin searching out what Gods plan was for me. I began playing in a worship band on guitar in Toms River Community Church and began seriously studying the bible. After a couple years I changed churches to New Beginnings Christian Church where I ushered for about a year and began learning to run the sound there when I got hurt.
I have been involved with different aspects of the construction industry most of my life. I was working maintaining property for my current employer when I got injured in a chainsaw accident in June 2017. While recovering from that, I had a tumor removed from my intestines. Praise God it did not metastasize. (See Musically **)
MUSICALLY
I was into and still enjoy prog rock (Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree). I was drawn to modern jazz for awhile (Jean Luc Ponty, Al Di Meola, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Pat Metheny). Enjoy most music but fond of reggae (Steel Pulse, Bob Marley, Police) and anything with a one drop African percussive beat. Definitely was influenced by my youths musical environment of rock and singer songwriters.
Played out as a drummer in a couple blues/rock bands like Squeaky Wheel, Funky Residue, Duct Tape Dirt Stars, No Image Please (mid 1980’s); played in a rock/pop band, Mention 7 (mid-late 2000’s). All played in local New Jersey shore bars. The most successful band of the bunch was the reggae band Positive Power that led to the largest gig I’ve played at as the headline band for an anti-apartheid concert in Newark Symphony Hall (mid-late 1980’s).
Began writing and recording on an old 4 track back in early 80’s. That slowly progressed and became a substantial one room recording studio around 2000.
I always dabbled with guitar and keyboards but really began learning guitar with the help of some friends, just before my chainsaw accident.
** After my accident I began waking up at night with God throwing lyrics into my head. I started keeping my ipad handy to type them out fast as they were quick to fade once I awoke. I began putting together my new found knowledge of guitar and proper key arrangements to form the 12 song working version of the album “One Way Up”. The most finished songs I put up on the music page for listening. My voice is admittedly the instrument I have to work on the most.
There you have it. Gods plan is taking shape in my life. I hope to reach people through the song and testimony He places in me.